Buttonhole-stitching machine.



B. T. LEVEQUE.

BUTTONHOLE STITCHiNG MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED 001.27. 1913.

Patented Apr. 11, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

B. T. LEVEQUE.

BUTTONHOLE STITCHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION HLED ocT; 21, 1913.

1379.@ 1 6 l l Patented Apr. 11, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

1 under thread in coperation with the needle.-

UNTTED STATES PATENT ormoni.;-

BERNARD T. LEVEOUE, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOETO- THE-imei:

BUTTON HOLE MACHINE COMPANY, or BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, -A ooiaroaA- TION 0F MAINE.

To all 'whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, BERNARD Siding at Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of lMassachusetts, Ihave invented' certain new and useful Improvements in Buttonhole-Stitching Ma chines, of which the following is a specification, reference being' had therein to the Iaccompanying drawing.v

This invention relates to buttonhole stitching machines, particularly of that -type known to the trade as the Reece buttonthe other hand are relatively movable so asj to enable the stitching tobe carried alongv the sides of the buttonhole and around its end or ends. Such stitch forming'mecha-' nism comprises usually an eye-pointed needle carrying the upper thread and below and opposed thereto the so-called under sewing mechanism, whichcarries and operates an A sewing machine of this class is illustrated in my prior Patent, No. 1,019,677',- .dated March 5, 1912. Another is the Dixon Pat ent, No. 695,039, dated March "1l, T1902."-

These prior patents will Supply, many-ide# tails and matters of description which may be, for convenience, omitted from the present application.

The main object of the present invention is to afford an under sewingmechanism of eiiicient construction and operation and possessing the merit'of simplicity and the ad'- fvantageswhich pertain to simpliedmechanism. The further advantages hereof scription or will be obvious to those Skilled in the art.

First will be *referred to vtl-ici'preferred.;

embodiment of the present linvention as con-y stituting an illustration of the same, and

' thereafter theA novel features will be pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying a part hereof vI "igure 1 is a right-hand side 3 is a right-hand elevation of theunder sewwill either be set forth yin the hereinafter following derthrough it' centrally at its lower end an 9 5 opening ofg'suchf-sizeas to loosely receitef-- hollow hub 2301iVv gear`16, the gearbeing applied to the sleeve 17 and fixed there by'a -jsuitable nut 24. 'v f The Sleeve -17 has extended through/fifths 100* vhollow rod-:orbar 25, said rodxreceiving drawings forming.

`i ond or underneathk thread, Such thread bein :passed upwardly through the rod' 25 an BUTTONHOLEfsTITcHING MACHIN.

Patented ApnLjii, 'i

Appiieatin med October' 27,1913. serial No. 797,412.

. y .ing mechanism@Figs.l 4 to show, details 55 T- LEYEQUE" a subject of the King of ,Great Britaln, re-

o'f the looper, Fig. 4 -beinga'vfront view, Fig. i

5 a section on the plane 5-v-5 offFig.' 4,-Fig.

`6 a section onthefplane'-l of-Fig. 4, and s Flg. 7 being' a diagram indicating-the loopers movement. -`1`ig'.ff8l is a 'front ,elevation 60 of the mechanisml shownin--Fi'g Fig. 9

is a top. plan view fofthe'funder sewing i.

mechanism.

Similar referencenumerals designate corv responding' parts'fin the s'everalgures. I.' Certain parts; are fshown. andmay"a1l'-loeas in Said Dixon patent, requiring-therefore' il, l

v'no detailedbrfibther description except' as" I follows, namely: r ,the clamp frame 1, 'thel casing 2 containing @the .'-F'needle ban 3, it 70 carrying an'jeypointedjneedle 4for1r'1a1'1p-v 'ulating the upper thread,Said needle4 bar' and its casing being in .practicemounted Ain the stitch. frame alreadyf referredptov but notl herein shown, 'the curb 'for cam casing- 5in 75 practice Secured'to the movable Stitchframe So as fto travel 'with `it` under, they clamup frame, 'said casing 5 [having suitableg' justable headed bolts whch bear against smooth .ways 7 at the yfunder 'Side ofthe 8G clamp.frame, the `rod.8' deriving its'motion from a'cam in the'stitch'- frame, the cutter 9 and its carrying l'ev'erlO, the `:under thread needle v11' ,.the .carrier 12 the/refer, the Ablock l 14, saidblockihaving the circular upper end S 15 adapting itto-receive at vSuitabletimes a circular movement, vthe gear 416 fast on a lSleeve-17 extending from block. 14,1thevtension `:device J-18 vfor the under thread,v ther per` end". y15 ,l ofthe block 1 4, and depending from'said'ring 2171i" loop 22 having formed through the opening in its lower'e'nd the secinto the under thread needle 11. The thread 1G device 18 before passing -to the under threadI needle 11. rl`he rod 25 has fixed to it below the gear 16 a ball or enlargement 27, it being as herein shown embraced between two loose cup-shaped disks 28 and 29, both loosely surrounding the rod 25 and contacting the ball 27, said disks being borne respectively upon the two forks 30, 31 of a lever 32 pivoted at 33 between two dependingcurved hangers 34, 34, these hangers being connected in a suitable manner as by screws 35, with the loop-shaped depending portion 22 above referred to. rlhe lever 32 is connected with the rod 8 as shown so that the cam operated movement of the rod causes the oscillation of the lever 32 and thereby reciprocates upwardly and downwardly the hollow rod or bar 25.

In continuing the description of the machine illustrated in the drawings hereof, l will refer to the new .parts supplied by me and to the new arrangements and combinations of parts, during which reference will necessarily be made to parts which per se are not new herein but are for the first time employed in the novelinter-relations and arrangements which I seek to cover.

The oscillatory seat or so-called block 14, which may take any physical form, l shall term the stock, as it is merely a carriage or frame for supporting the various working parts of the under mechanism. lt shifts bodily, for example oircularly, with all of the working parts supported by it, and these parts themselves move as may be required for stitching more or less independently of the stocks shifting.

Generally speaking the under sewing mechanism hereof comprises in combination the movable stock referred to, and the' following elements supported by said stock, namely, the movable under needle carrier 12, the movable thread looper 19, the movable actuator or up-and-down reciprocating rod 25, which is adapted to be exteriorly operated independently of the stocks shift ing, and connections hereinafter to be more specifically described whereby said actuator actuates both said carrier and said looper.

Before describing the manner of actuation of the needle carrier and looper and the connections therefor, l shall refer to a convenient thread take-up or measuring contrivance shown herein, but which per se' forms no part of the present invention. This comprises a three-armed lever 36, 37, 38, pivoted at 39, the long arm 36 having at its extremity an eye or aperture for the thread,

the arm 37 having a spring 40 for turning the lever leftwise in Fig. 8, and the levers oscillation being effected through a pin 41 on the up-and-down moving actuator rod 25. In order to adjust the movement of the lever an adjustable stop 42 is provided, a portion of which stands in the path of the arm 38 to limit to any desired degree the upward movement thereof. lt will be understood that the carrier 12 is provided with a thread guide, for example as shown at 43, with which the looper arm 36 cooperates as in said Dixon patent.

The movement of the under needle car rier 12 is preferably a simple up-and-down swinging in the are of a circle determined by the novel mechanism to be described, the needle rst passing upwardly through the buttonhole to a position above the fabric where it coperates with the upper needle, the under needle then returning to a position beneath the fabric where it again cooperates with the upper needle, preferably by the aid of the looper 19. rlhe operation of the looper is not a. simple swinging motion, but a compound motion consisting of the resultant of, first, an extended to-andfro movement of the looper bodily between the needle paths and, second, a slight lateral vibration serving to carry the barb of the looper around the path of the under needle. The purpose of such motion is that the looper may in moving toward the under needle path take a loop of upper thread at each descent of the upper needle and present such loop to the under needle so that the latter may ascend through the loop causing an interlocking of the two threads.

Now will be described the following extremely simple trains of connections whereby the actuator 25 in its up-and-down movements effects actuation of the under needle carrier and also effects both motions of the looper. Heretofore, as indicated in said prior patents, it has been deemed necessary to fit the needle carrier in a curved -groove or race in order that its center of swinging might be suiiiciently near the plane of the work, yet without causing interference between the carrier fittings and other par-5s of the machine when the stock 14 shifts. Ad cording hereto, the objections and complications of such prior carrier fittings are obviated bv the following simple construction. A relatively fixed bearing 50 upon the stock 14 is located as high as possible as indicated in Fig. 8, so that its axis is nearly up to, but slightly under, the level of the work. The bearing 50 may be inclined as shown in Fig. 3, as is usual in machines of this type. lt is proposed herein to have the needle carrier swing simply inthe arc of a circle about the bearing 50 as a center. i'lilo this end there will be a hub memberl engaging the bearing 50 and a spoke member 52 rigidly connecting the hub member with the carrier, so that the three constitute a single rigid device, simple in construction.

and certain in its movements. To cause the carrier to swing upwardly and downwardly connections to the actuator may be employed comprising an intermediary or lever 53 having a relatively fixed pivot at the The looper 19 may take different f0rms,

but is shown as hook-shaped, having a barb at its extremity, adapting it to operate as above stated. The looper may be detachably connected vto a looperlever 60, and, as will be seen,.this looper lever in the specific embodiment shown consists of three rigidly connected parts, 61, 62' and 63. The upper arm 61 of the looper lever is the part that 'carries' the looper.

The lower arm 62 of the looper lever constitutes a looper cam and its is proposed herein to effect both of the looper motions `from this single cam. Between the upper and lower arms is a hollow member or frame 63, whose purpose is to take part in a universal pivot connection for the looper lever. Referring to Fig. 4, the looperland lever should swing substantially in a plane parallel to the paper for the purpose of the extended to-and-fro movementl and in a direction substantially normal to the paper for the slight lateral vibration of the looper. Such motions are permitted by the following pivotal connections. A fixed stud or axle 64, forming substantially a part of the stock, atfords a bearing for a swinging axle 65, the latter in turn having a pivotal connection with the frame portion 63 of the loopel` lever. The described construction constitutes a simple and efficient universal fitting for the looper.

.l The looper'movcments are controlled by the cam 62. For 'this purpose a stud 66 is mounted on the actuator 25 vand it has aspherical head 67 engaging in the groove 68 of the cam 62. The cam groove 68 is formed in the interior of the cam member and is provided with contours' .in two different' planes as indicated in Figs. 4 and 5 respectively. Referring first to Fig. 4, the dotted line 69 indicates the path of relative movement of the sphere and cam. The first portion of this movement is a dwell, the ascend-l ing sphere then entering the inclined portion of the cam causing the entire looper lever to swing and moving the looper bodily toward the needles. The cross-section of Fig.

5 shows the transverse contour of the cam groove, the large diagram thereof in Fig. 7 indicates the curved path 70 of relative movement of the sphere in the cam. This indicates that as the sphere ascends it effects toward the end of the movement a slight lateral displacement and return movement, this giving the desired resultant" curved path to the looper to enable its barb to pass 'around and lie behind the path of the under needle. Thus the cam constitutes a single device operated by the movements of the actuator for giving to the looper both of its aforesaid movements. A convenient expedient is to renderthe outer half 71 of the cam 62 removable and detachable to permit the insertion of thespherical stud.

- It will thus be seen that there has been described a buttonhole stitching machine attaining the advantages recited and other advantages will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Since many matters of design, arrangement, combination, detail and other features may be afforded without departing from the principles hereof, it is not intended to limit the invention to such features excepting in so faras the saine are specified in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1.. In a buttonhole stitching machine the combination of means for manipulating an upper thread and under thread mechanism comprising ashiftable stock, and the following elements carried on said stock, namely;

a movable actuatorexteriorly operable independently of the stocks shifting, 4an under needle carrier, a bearing relatively fixed on said stock in a position near to but slightly below the plane of the work, a hub member engaging said bearing, a spoke member rigidly connecting said carrier and hub member, and connections whereby the actuator actuates said carrier to` swing about Y said bearing; and a looper actuated from said actuator to coperate with said carrier, said looper mounted on a universal pivot device and connected to said actuator through a double acting cam device; f

2. In a buttonhole stitching machine the combination ofvmeans for manipulating an upper thread and under thread mechanism comprising a shiftable stock, and the following elements carried on said stock, namely; a movable actuator exteriorly operable independently of the stocks shifting, an under needle carrier actuated from said actuator, a looper adapted to.receive an extended to-and-fro movement and a slight lateral vibration, a looper lever on which the looper is rigidly connected, and a cam device operated by the movements of said actuator actuator, a looper iitted by a universal pivot a member having a cam contour in two `planes operated by the movements of said actuator forgiving both said movements to the looper., a

4. ln a buttonhole stitching machine the combination of means for manipulating an upper thread and under thread mechanism comprising a shiftable stock,` and the following elements carried o n s aid stock, namely; a movable actuator exteriorly operable independently of the stocks shifting, an under needle carrier actuated from said actuator, a looper, a looper lever carrying said looper and adapted to receive an extended to-and-fro movement and a slight lateral vibration, and a cam connection between saidl actuator and lever operated by the movements of said actuator for giving both said movements to the looper, said connection comprising a spherical stud on the actuator engaging a cam groove in the lever having a contour in two planes for producing the respective looper motions. v

5.111 a buttonhole stitching machine the combination of means for manipulating an upper thread and under thread mechanism comprising a shiftable stock, and the following elements carried on said stock, namely; a movable actuator exteriorly operable independently of the stocks shifting, an under needle carrier actuated from said actuator, a looper and a carrying lever therefor fitted by a universal pivot device to receive an extended to-and-fro movement' and a slight lateral vibration, and a means operated by the movements of said actuator for giving both said movements to the looper; said pivot device comprising an axle mounted on the stock, and a swinging axle mounted on said irst axle, said two axles located at substantially the same point in the length of the lever so as to constitute a gimbal.

ln testimony whereof l aiiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

BERNARD T. LEVEQUE. Witnesses:

T. J.- CARTY, F. J. BURNS. 

